A General Overview of Shang's Studies on the Zhou Changes

吳先生日：易者，占卜之名。《祭義》：「易抱龜南面，天子卷冕北面。」是易者占卜之名，因以名其官。《史記·大宛傳》：「天子發書易。」謂發書卜也。又武帝《輪臺詔》云：「易之，卦得大過。」易之，卜之也。說者以簡易、不易、變易釋之，皆非。愚案：《史記·禮書》云「能慮勿易」，亦以易為占。簡易、不易、變易，皆易之用，非易字本詁，本詁固占卜也。

My teacher, Mr. Wu Rulun, said: The character "Yi" originally refers to divination. The "Rites of Sacrifice: Ritual Propriety" says: "Yi embraced the turtle and faced south, while the Son of Heaven rolled up his ceremonial cap and faced north." Here, "Yi" refers to the name of divination, and thus it was also used to denote the official in charge of divination. The "Records of the Grand Historian: Biography of the Western Regions" says "the Son of Heaven opened the divination book and cast the hexagram," which means he consulted the oracle by casting the hexagram. The "Luntai Zhao" (Edict of Luntai) by Emperor Wu of Han says "cast the divination, and the hexagram obtained was Great Excess," where "cast the divination" means "consult the oracle." Later people used the three meanings of "simplicity," "unchanging," and "change" to explain the character "Yi," but these are incorrect. I suggest that the "Records of the Grand Historian: Book of Rites" says "be able to consider without being easily changed," which also uses "Yi" in the sense of divination. The meanings of "simplicity," "unchanging," and "change" refer to the function of the "Yi" classic, not the original meaning of the character "Yi." The original meaning of "Yi" is indeed divination.

至於周字，鄭康成注《周禮》三易，於連山、歸藏皆詳釋其義，於周易則缺而不釋。然康成《易論》云：「周易者，言易道周普，無所不備。」賈公彥云：「連山、歸藏皆不言地號，以義名易，則周非地號。周易純乾為首，乾為天，天能周匝於四時，故名易為周也。」孔穎達則據《世譜》等書，謂連山為神農，歸藏為黃帝，連山、歸藏既皆是代號，周易亦然，謂鄭說無據。按三易之名，皆緣首卦。連山以艮為首，上艮下艮，故曰連山；歸藏以坤為首，萬物皆歸藏於地，故曰歸藏；周易以乾為首，乾元亨利貞，即春夏秋冬周而復始，無有窮期，故曰周易。鄭論及賈疏所言是也，孔疏所據非也。

As for the term 「周」, Zheng Xuan (styled Kangcheng) explained in his commentary on the "Rites of Zhou" that the "Three Yis" referred to, including the names of "Lianshan" and "Guicang," were elaborately interpreted, but he left the meaning of "Zhouyi" unexplained. However, in his "Yilun," he said: "The term 'Zhouyi' means that the principles of change are comprehensive and pervasive, covering everything." Tang dynasty scholar Jia Gongyan elaborated: "Both 'Lianshan' and 'Guicang' do not use place names as their titles, but rather derive their names from their meanings. Therefore, 'Zhou' is not a place name. The 'Zhouyi' begins with the pure Qian hexagram, and since Qian represents Heaven, which can circulate through the four seasons, this is why it is called 'Zhouyi'." Kong Yingda, however, based his argument on books like the "Shi Pu," stating that "Lianshan" belonged to the Yellow Emperor and "Guicang" belonged to Shennong. Since "Lianshan" and "Guicang" were names of dynasties, he concluded that "Zhouyi" must also be a dynasty name, thus arguing that Zheng Xuan's explanation lacked foundation. I believe that the names of the three Yis are all derived from their first hexagrams. "Lianshan" begins with the Gen hexagram, with both upper and lower trigrams being Gen, symbolizing two mountains connected, hence the name "Lianshan." "Guicang" begins with the Kun hexagram, as all things ultimately return to the earth, hence the name "Guicang." "Zhouyi" begins with the Qian hexagram, and the virtue of Qian, "Yuan, Heng, Li, Zhen," represents the cyclical nature of the four seasons, which never ends, hence the name "Zhouyi." Zheng Xuan's "Yilun" and Jia Gongyan's commentary are correct, while Kong Yingda's argument is not.

神農之兼號連山，黃帝之兼號歸藏，乃因其所演之易名，後人偉其功，即以為號，非其易原無名，連山氏所演者即名連山，歸藏氏所演者即名歸藏也。何言之？連山、歸藏皆因卦首之艮、坤而得名，顯而易見。二帝之所以有此兼號者，亦猶神農創建農功，即以神農為號耳。且連山、歸藏，先儒亦謂為夏商易，益可證連山、歸藏之名乃因易而起，非以連山、歸藏標代號。如為代號，胡能又謂為夏商？孔氏之觀察誤也。

The Heavenly Stems are Jia, Yi, Bing, Ding, Wu, Ji, Geng, Xin, Ren, and Gui. The Earthly Branches are Zi, Chou, Yin, Mao, Chen, Si, Wu, Wei, Shen, You, Xu, and Hai. The Trigrams are Qian (Heaven), Dui (Lake), Li (Fire), Zhen (Thunder), Xun (Wind), Kan (Water), Gen (Mountain), and Kun (Earth). Kong Yingda was a scholar of the Sui dynasty. The Yellow Emperor is a legendary figure in Chinese history.

周者，易之理。十二消息卦，周也；元亨利貞，周也；「大明終始，六位時成」，周也。彖傳分釋元亨利貞既畢，又曰「首出庶物」，即貞下啟元也，周也。古聖人之卦氣圖，起中孚，終頤，周也。此其理惟揚子雲識之最深。《太玄》以「中」擬中孚，以「周」擬復，終以「養」擬頤，其次序與卦氣圖絲毫不紊。

The concept of "zhou" refers to the principles of the Book of Changes. The twelve message hexagrams (辟卦), which illustrate the waxing and waning of yin and yang in a cycle, represent "zhou"; the four virtues of yuan, heng, li, and zhen, which cycle repeatedly, also represent "zhou"; the Commentary on the Judgment of the Hexagram Qian states, "Great brightness begins and ends, the six positions are formed in due time" (the sun and moon illuminate from beginning to end, and the six lines are formed in accordance with the time), which is also "zhou." The Commentary on the Judgment explains each of the four virtues in sequence, and at the end it says, "the first to emerge is the common people," which signifies that "zhen" has been completed and "yuan" begins again, thus continuing the cycle of "zhou." The ancient sages' hexagram qi diagram, starting from Zhongfu and ending at Yi, with the beginning and end connected, is also "zhou." This principle was most deeply understood by Yang Xiong (styled Ziyun) of the Han dynasty. His work, The Tai Xuan, uses "zhong" to correspond to Zhongfu, "zhou" to correspond to Fu, and finally "yang" to correspond to Yi, with the order perfectly matching the hexagram qi diagram.

而於玄首則釋其所以然。其罔、直、蒙、酋、冥，即元亨利貞，故以中、羨、從為始，更、睟、廓為中，減、沉、成為終，循環往來，無一非周之理。而於三易終西北、始西北之義，尤推闡無遺。西北者，戍亥。《乾鑿度》以戍亥為天門，莊子云：「有乎生，有乎死，有乎出，有乎入，入出而無見其形，是謂天門。天門者，無有也，萬物出乎無有。」蓋一歲之事，至乾而終，復自乾而始，有無出入，皆以戍亥為樞紐。故先天艮居戍亥，連山以為首；月卦坤居戍亥，歸藏以為首；後天乾居戍亥，周易以為首。明乎此，而周字之解詁，不待煩言矣。

In the "Xuan Shou" section of the "Tai Xuan," Yang Xiong explains the reason for this arrangement. The five stages he established, "Wang, Zhi, Meng, Chou, Ming," correspond to the four principles "Yuan, Heng, Li, Zhen." Therefore, he uses the three groups of "Zhong, Xuan, Cong" as the beginning, "Geng, Cui, Kuo" in the middle, and "Jian, Chen, Cheng" as the conclusion, forming a cycle with no place not embodying the concept of "Zhou." Regarding the fact that all three systems of the Book of Changes begin and end in the northwest, he elaborates thoroughly. In the twelve earthly branches, the northwest corresponds to Xu and Hai. The "Qian Zao Du" refers to Xu and Hai as "Tian Men"; the "Zhuangzi" says, "There is birth, death, emergence, and entry; emergence and entry without visible traces is called Tian Men. Tian Men is 'wu you,' from which all things emerge." Basically, the events of a year reach the position of Qian and then conclude, beginning again from Qian, with the interplay of existence and non-existence, emergence and entry, all centered on Xu and Hai. Therefore, in the Earlier Heaven Trigrams, Gen occupies Xu and Hai, and "Lian Shan" begins with Gen; in the twelve-month trigrams, Kun occupies Hai, and "Gui Cang" begins with Kun; in the Later Heaven Trigrams, Qian occupies Xu and Hai, and "Zhou Yi" begins with Qian. Once this is understood, there is no need for further explanation of the meaning of the character "Zhou."

《左傳》韓宣子適魯，觀易象與魯春秋，曰：「吾乃知周公之德，與周之所以王也。」周公之德，由魯春秋知之；周之所以王，則由易象知之。蓋文王演易，其憂勤惕厲之精神備見於易辭，故一觀易辭（凡易辭皆易象）即知文王之所以王，是春秋人以文王演易。《繫辭》云：「易之興也，其當殷之末世、周之盛德邪？當文王與紂之事邪？」是孔氏以文王演易。後太史公、揚子雲之屬，亦以文王演易於羑里。既曰演易，則卦爻辭皆文王所作，自西漢以前無異議也。

The Zuo Zhuan records that Han Xuanzi went to Lu state and saw the Yi Xiang and the Lu Chunqiu. He said, "Now I understand the virtue of the Duke of Zhou and the reason why the Zhou dynasty was able to achieve the Mandate of Heaven." The virtue of the Duke of Zhou was known from the Lu Chunqiu, while the reason for the Zhou dynasty's ability to rule the world was known from the Yi Xiang. Because King Wen composed the Zhou Yi, his spirit of diligence, caution, and vigilance was fully reflected in the hexagram statements and line statements. Therefore, by looking at the Yi statements, which are all derived from the Yi Xiang, one could understand why King Wen was able to achieve the Mandate of Heaven. This shows that people of the Spring and Autumn period already regarded the Yi as composed by King Wen. The Xici Zhuan says, "The emergence of the Yi probably occurred during the late Shang dynasty and the rise of the Zhou dynasty, probably during the time of King Wen and King Zhou." This shows that Confucius also believed the Yi was composed by King Wen. Later scholars such as Sima Qian and Yang Xiong also said that King Wen composed the Zhou Yi while he was imprisoned in Youli. Since it is said that "King Wen composed the Yi," then both the hexagram statements and line statements must have been composed by King Wen. Before the Western Han dynasty, there was no disagreement on this point.

祇京氏《積算法》云：「西伯父子，推爻考象，加乎星宿，局於六十四所，二十四氣。」夫以五星二十八宿及二十四氣入卦，乃占筮之事，京舉此以明其術之所本，正言周公作卦氣圖與時訓也，非謂周公作易。至東漢王充、馬融、陸績之儔，忽謂文王演卦辭，周公演爻辭，孔穎達、朱子等皆信之，而究其根據，則記載皆無。孔穎達以升六四言王，明夷六五言箕子，既濟九五言西鄰受福，及韓宣子見易象知周公之德為解。豈知升六四言王，以震為王，震為陵，形兩歧，故曰「王用亨於歧山」，岐、歧通也。即使有所指，亦指殷王。文王終身服事殷，故盼王來享，情見乎辭。今謂不合自稱為王，以文王追諡為說，故疑為周公，其謬一也。

Jing Fang's "Ji Suan Fa" says: "The Son of Zhou studied the positions of the lines and examined the images of the hexagrams, combining them with the star mansions, limiting them within the sixty-four positions and the twenty-four solar terms." Matching the five planets, the twenty-eight star mansions, and the twenty-four solar terms into the hexagrams is a matter of divination; Jing Fang cited this statement to indicate the source of his system of numerology, referring to King Zhou's hexagram atmosphere diagram and "Shi Xun," not saying that King Zhou composed the Book of Changes. By the Eastern Han dynasty, people like Wang Chong, Ma Rong, and Lu Ji suddenly proposed that the hexagram statements were composed by King Wen and the line statements by the Duke of Zhou. Kong Yingda and Zhu Xi all accepted this view; however, when tracing its source, there is no record in the classics. Kong Yingda's reasoning is that the line "Wang" in the hexagram "Sheng" Six in the Fourth, the line "Jizi" in the hexagram "Mingyi" Six in the Fifth, and the line "Xi Lin Shou Fu" in the hexagram "Ji Ji" Nine in the Fifth, plus Han Xuanzi's knowledge of the "Yi Xiang" indicating the virtue of the Duke of Zhou. But actually, the line "Wang" in "Sheng" Six in the Fourth refers to the image of "Wang" in Zhen; Zhen also takes the image of "Ling," and since Zhen's hexagram shape has two branches at the top, it says "Wang uses the ritual to offer sacrifices at Qishan" — "Qi" and "Qi" are homophones. Even if this line refers to something specific, it refers to the King of Yin: King Wen spent his whole life serving the Yin dynasty, so he hoped the King of Yin would come to receive sacrifices, and this sentiment is clearly expressed in the text. Now, however, it is said that King Wen should not call himself "Wang," and the argument is based on the fact that "Wen Wang" was a posthumous title, thus doubting that the line statements were composed by the Duke of Zhou. This is the first error.

至明夷六五之箕子，與彖傳之箕子絕對不同。彖傳之箕子，紂臣也；六五之箕子，則趙賓讀為荄茲，劉向、荀爽讀為荄滋，王弼讀為其茲，蜀才讀為其子，而焦氏易林則讀為孩子，孩子指紂，與《論衡》讀微子之刻子為孩子同也（古亥音皆音喜，皆與箕音通）。且以六五之君位，而使紂臣居之可乎？馬融知其不可，以箕子演疇、有帝王之德為解，然何以解於「箕子之明夷」？彖傳謂箕子晦其明，今謂箕子明夷，則竟不明矣，其謬二也。

Now regarding the "Jizi" in the line "Six in the Fifth" of the hexagram "Mingyi," it is definitely not the same as the "Jizi" mentioned in the Commentary on the Judgment. The "Jizi" in the Commentary on the Judgment refers to a minister of King Zhou. However, the "Jizi" in the line "Six in the Fifth" was interpreted by Han dynasty scholar Zhao Bin as "gai zi" (meaning grass roots growing), Liu Xiang and Xun Shuang as "gai zhi," Wang Bi as "qi zi," Shu Cai as "qi zi," and the Jiao Forest of Changes as "huzi" (child). "Huzi" here refers to King Zhou, following the same approach as the Discourses on Weights and Measures, which interpreted Wei Zi's "ke zi" (carved child) as "huzi" (child). (In ancient pronunciation, "Hai" was pronounced like "xi," and both are phonetically related to "Ji.") Moreover, the line "Six in the Fifth" represents the position of the ruler, so how can a minister of King Zhou occupy the position of the ruler? Ma Rong realized this was illogical, so he changed his interpretation, saying that Jizi interpreted the Nine Categories of the Hongfan and possessed the virtue of a ruler. But if that is the case, how can we interpret "Jizi's Mingyi"? The Commentary on the Judgment says that Jizi concealed his brightness, but if we now say that Jizi was in "Mingyi" (dimming brightness), then it would mean that he himself was not bright. This is the second error.

至既濟九五之東鄰西鄰，原以離坎為東西，以離為牛，以互震為祭，純是觀象繫辭。乃漢人忽有東鄰指紂、西鄰自謂之曲說，在文王固不合，在周公尤不合，周公時何來紂與為鄰？且語意之膚淺，聖人有若是者乎？其謬三也。至韓宣子觀易象之語，解已見前。且杜注云：「易象春秋，文王周公之制。」謂文王制易象，周公制春秋，解甚分明。今忽因「吾乃知周公之德」一語（述孔舊說），謂周公遭流言，亦得為憂患，必亦演易，尤為虛妄不實，其謬四矣。故夫周易卦爻辭，純為文王一人所作，其欲加入周公者，毫無根據，不可信也。（西溪易說云：文王囚中演易，周公未必生，即生亦子云家之童鳥也，豈能演易？駁孔說至詳。）

As for the "east neighbor" and "west neighbor" in the "Nine in the Fifth" of the "Already Completed" hexagram, originally, the "Li" trigram represents the east and the "Kan" trigram represents the west. Taking "Li" to represent the image of an ox and the interacting trigram "Zhen" to represent the image of a sacrifice, this is purely observing the images and then attaching the statements. However, the Han dynasty scholars suddenly introduced a misunderstanding, claiming that "the east neighbor refers to King Zhou and the west neighbor is King Wen referring to himself." This interpretation is inappropriate for King Wen, and even more so for the Duke of Zhou, since there was no King Zhou living as a neighbor during the Duke of Zhou's time. Moreover, such an interpretation is very shallow, and would not be something a sage would say. This is the third error. As for Yang Xiong's comment on the "Images" of the "Zhou Changes," it has already been explained earlier. Furthermore, Du Yu's annotation says, "The 'Images' and the 'Spring and Autumn Annals' were both composed by King Wen and the Duke of Zhou." This clearly indicates that King Wen composed the "Images" and the Duke of Zhou composed the "Spring and Autumn Annals." Now, however, people rely solely on the phrase "I now know the virtue of the Duke of Zhou" (which is a quotation from Kong Yingda's old interpretation) to claim that the Duke of Zhou experienced slander and was in a state of hardship, and therefore must have also composed the "Zhou Changes." This is even more baseless and untrue. This is the fourth error. Therefore, the hexagram statements and line statements of the "Zhou Changes" were purely composed by King Wen alone. The idea of including the Duke of Zhou has no basis and should not be believed. ("The Western Stream Commentary on the Changes" says: When King Wen was imprisoned and composed the "Zhou Changes," the Duke of Zhou had not yet been born; even if he had been born, he would have been no more than a precocious child like the early-bird bird in Yang Xiong's family. How could such a child be able to compose the "Zhou Changes"? It thoroughly refutes Kong Yingda's view.)

孔穎達云：王輔嗣以為伏羲重卦，鄭玄以為神農重卦，孫盛以為夏禹重卦，史遷以為文王重卦。今以諸文驗之，說卦云：「昔者聖人之作易也，幽贊於神明而生蓍。」凡言作者，創造之謂，非伏羲不足以當之。故乾鑿度云「垂皇策者羲」，明蓍在六爻之後，非三畫之時。伏羲既用蓍，即伏羲巳重卦矣，今依王輔嗣為得其實。按孔說是也。鄭以為神農重卦者，蓋以周禮太卜有「三易經卦皆八，其別皆六十有四」之文，鄭彼注云「別即重卦」，而世譜等書謂神農兼號連山，故鄭謂其始重卦。惟杜子春謂連山為宓戲易，賈公彥云：「連山以艮為首，上艮下艮，故曰連山。」若然，宓戲畫卦即重為六十四卦，愈無疑也。

Kong Yingda said: Wang Bi (Fuxi) believed that Fuxi was the one who created the hexagrams, Zheng Xuan believed it was Shen Nong, Sun Sheng believed it was the Xia Yu, and Sima Qian believed it was King Wen. Now, verifying with the words of various scholars: The "Shu Guan Zhuan" says, "In the past, the sage created the Book of Changes, deeply assisting the divine to create the divination with yarrow stalks." Whenever the word "zu" (create) is used, it refers to creation, and no one other than Fuxi is worthy of it. Therefore, the "Qian Zao Du" says, "Fuxi demonstrated the method of divination with yarrow stalks." This shows that the method of divination with yarrow stalks came after the six lines were complete, not during the stage of the trigrams. Since Fuxi already used yarrow stalks to create the hexagrams, it indicates that Fuxi had already created the hexagrams, so Wang Bi's view is most accurate. I comment: Kong Yingda's statement is correct. Zheng Xuan's belief that Shen Nong created the hexagrams probably comes from the statement in the "Zhou Li · Tai Bu" that "the trigrams of the Three Yis are all eight, and their differentiated hexagrams are sixty-four." Zheng Xuan annotated there that "differentiated" means "repeating the trigrams." Also, books like the "Shi Pu" say that Shen Nong had the title "Lianshan" (Continuous Mountains), so Zheng Xuan believed that the hexagrams began with Shen Nong. However, Du Zichun said that "Lianshan" was the Book of Changes of Fuxi (Miyi), and Jia Gongyan also said, "Lianshan starts with the trigram Gen, with Gen above and Gen below, so it is called Lianshan." If this is the case, then Fuxi had already created the sixty-four hexagrams when he drew the trigrams, which is even more certain.

薈萃夫子之說者。夫子之說，如彖傳言「時乘六龍以御天」，言「雲行雨施」，文言亦言之，而上下繫辭意重複者尤多，蓋皆夫子所說，前後不一時，而記錄者亦未必為一人，故辭重意復如是，而非夫子自為也。蓋周易得夫子之十翼，門戶始開，而十翼幽奧之辭，其難解過於周易。朱子云有文王之易，有孔子之易，孔子之易即十翼，故十翼非孔子不能為、不敢為，而紀錄十翼者，則孔子之門人也。（疑雜卦或夫子自為之。其敘次卦位，上經先一陽卦，次二陽三陽，次四陽，而損益則次於上經之第十卦，否泰則次於下經之第十卦，其位次與經同，其義蓋與經大異。此等改作，七十子不敢也。惜其大義失傳久，無有能說者。）

The Ten Wings were compiled from the words of Confucius. For example, Confucius' statements such as "At the right time, the six dragons ride to govern heaven" and "Clouds move and rain spreads" in the Commentary on the Judgment of the Qian hexagram, and similar expressions in the Wenyan section, all show that the ideas are repeated. This is because Confucius' words were spoken at different times, and the people who recorded them were not necessarily the same person, so the expressions and meanings overlap and repeat. This is not because Confucius himself wrote them. The Zhou Changes gained access to the meaning through the Ten Wings; however, the language of the Ten Wings is obscure and even more difficult to understand than the original text of the Zhou Changes. Zhu Xi said that there is the Yi of King Wen and the Yi of Confucius; the Yi of Confucius is the Ten Wings. Therefore, the Ten Wings could not have been written by anyone other than Confucius, and he would not have dared to write them. The ones who recorded the Ten Wings were his disciples. (I suspect that the Zage Commentary may have been written by Confucius himself. It arranges the order of the hexagrams, first listing the hexagrams with one yang line, then those with two yang lines, three yang lines, and finally four yang lines. It places the hexagrams of Xun and Yi in the tenth position of the Upper Canon, and the hexagrams of Bo and Tai in the tenth position of the Lower Canon, with the same positions as the original text, but with meanings that are quite different. Such changes would not have been dared by the seventy disciples. Unfortunately, its great meaning has been lost for a long time, and no one can explain it clearly.)

十翼篇名，史漢皆未詳說。依楊子云所擬，則象傳、文言、說卦、序卦、雜卦共五篇，而玄攡、玄瑩、玄掜、玄圖、玄告，皆擬繫辭，似繫辭原為五篇，足成十翼之數。而孔穎達謂經有上下，則以上彖一，下彖二，上象三，下象四，上繫五，下繫六，文言七，說卦八，序卦九，雜卦十。後儒又各有分配，然無關宏旨，故略而不詳。

The titles of the ten appendices of the I Ching are not elaborately recorded in the Records of the Grand Historian and the Book of Han. According to the model presented in Yang Xiong's Tai Xuan, they include five works: the Image Commentary, the Wenyan, the Shu Gu, the Xu Gu, and the Za Gu. Another five works, the Xuan Zhan, Xuan Ying, Xuan Zhan, Xuan Tu, and Xuan Gao, are all modeled after the Great Treatise, suggesting that the Great Treatise originally consisted of five sections, making a total of ten appendices. Kong Yingda, however, divided them according to the two parts of the main text: the upper part of the Tu (彖) as the first, the lower part of the Tu as the second, the upper part of the Xiang (象) as the third, the lower part of the Xiang as the fourth, the upper part of the Xi (系) as the fifth, the lower part of the Xi as the sixth, the Wenyan as the seventh, the Shu Gu as the eighth, the Xu Gu as the ninth, and the Za Gu as the tenth. Later scholars have their own divisions, but they do not differ significantly from this, so they are not discussed in detail.

彖象原各自為篇，而今本皆附於經文之下。後儒謂費直專以十翼解易，彖象連經始於費直，此無稽之言。史但言直以十翼說易耳，安見其以彖象連經，不合一。史言費直無章句，以彖象連經，是有章句也，不合二。劉向校諸家易，獨費直與中古文合，設以彖象連經，向早言之矣，尚能與中古文合乎，不合三也。考三國志高貴鄉公傳云：「彖象本不連經，今鄭玄注連經何也？」是以彖象附於經文下者，實始於康成也。

The Commentary on the Judgment and the Image Commentary originally existed as separate texts, but in the present version they are both attached below the main text. Later scholars claimed that Fei Zhi used the Ten Wings to explain the Book of Changes, and that he was the first to incorporate the Commentary on the Judgment and the Image Commentary into the main text. This claim has no basis. Historical records only mention that Fei Zhi used the Ten Wings to explain the Book of Changes, but there is no indication that he combined the Commentary on the Judgment and the Image Commentary with the main text. This is the first inconsistency. The historical records state that Fei Zhi "had no punctuation or paragraphing." If he had combined the Commentary on the Judgment and the Image Commentary with the main text, then he would have had punctuation and paragraphing. This is the second inconsistency. Liu Xiang examined various versions of the Book of Changes, and only Fei Zhi's version matched the "middle ancient text" version kept in the royal secret library. If Fei Zhi had combined the Commentary on the Judgment and the Image Commentary with the main text, Liu Xiang would have certainly pointed it out, and it could not have matched the middle ancient text version. This is the third inconsistency. According to the Records of the Three Kingdoms, in the biography of Gaoxianggong, it is recorded: "The Commentary on the Judgment and the Image Commentary originally did not follow the main text, but now Zheng Xuan made annotations and connected them together, why is that?" This shows that attaching the Commentary on the Judgment and the Image Commentary below the main text actually began with Zheng Xuan (Kangcheng).

漢書儒林傳云：商瞿子木受易於孔子，以授魯橋庇子庸，子庸授江東馯臂子弓，子弓授燕周丑子家，子家授東武孫虞子乘，子乘授齊田何。漢興，因何授雒陽周王孫、梁人丁寬，丁寬授田王孫，田王孫授施讎、梁丘賀、孟喜。由是得孔氏嫡傳者，有施、孟、梁丘三家之學。三家中以孟喜能兼明陰陽，畢田生之業。孟喜授焦延壽，延壽授京房，由是又有京氏之學。此外有高相，專明陰陽災變，自言出於丁將軍。費直專以十翼解易，其傳授不明。此西漢傳易之大略也。

The "Records of the Literati" in the "Book of Han" states: Shang Qu (given name Zi Mu) learned the "Book of Changes" from Confucius, and passed it on to Qiao Bi (given name Zi Yong) of Lu State; Qiao Bi passed it on to Han Bi (given name Zi Gong) of Jiangdong; Han Bi passed it on to Zhou Chou (given name Zi Jia) of Yan State; Zhou Chou passed it on to Sun Yu (given name Zi Cheng) of Dongwu; Sun Yu passed it on to Tian He of Qi State. After the establishment of the Han dynasty, the lineage of Tian He was followed: Tian He passed it on to Zhou Wangsun of Luoyang and Ding Kuan of Liang State; Ding Kuan passed it on to Tian Wangsun; Tian Wangsun passed it on to Shi Chou, Liang Qiu He, and Meng Xi. Thus, there were three schools of thought that inherited the direct lineage from Confucius: the schools of Shi, Meng, and Liang Qiu. Among these three, Meng Xi was able to combine the doctrines of yin and yang and calamities and portents, and fully mastered all the teachings of Tian Wangsun. Meng Xi passed it on to Jiao Yanshou, who passed it on to Jing Fang, thus giving rise to the Jing school of the "Book of Changes." In addition, there was Gao Xiang, who specialized in the doctrines of yin and yang and calamities, claiming to have descended from Ding Kuan (Ding General). Fei Zhi, on the other hand, exclusively used the "Ten Wings" to explain the "Book of Changes," and his lineage of transmission is unclear. This is a general account of the transmission of the "Book of Changes" during the Western Han dynasty.

亦曰月卦，曰候卦，曰十二闢卦，為全易之本根，大玄之綱領。清儒毛西河等動以月卦屬之漢人，此大誤也。干寶周禮注引歸藏云：復子、臨丑、泰寅、大壯卯、夬辰、乾巳、姤午、遯未、否申、觀酉、剝戌、坤亥，是月卦已見於二易。故坤彖及上六交辭，非用月卦不能解，明以坤居亥也。左傳得復卦，曰「南國蹙，射其元王，中厥目」，以復居子，尤為顯著。後漢人注易，往往用月卦而不明言，以月卦人人皆知，不必揭出，其重要可知巳。

The "Message卦" is also called the "Month卦," "Season卦," and "Twelve Dividing卦." It is the fundamental concept of the entire Book of Changes, and also the main idea of Yang Xiong's "Ta Xuan." Qing dynasty scholars such as Mao Qiling (Xihé) often claimed that the Month卦 was invented by the Han dynasty, which is a great mistake. Gan Bao's commentary on the "Rites of Zhou" cites the "Guicang" saying: The "Fu" hexagram corresponds to the first lunar month, "Lin" to the second, "Tai" to the third, "Da Zhuang" to the fourth, "Gua" to the fifth, "Qian" to the sixth, "Gou" to the seventh, "Dun" to the eighth, "Pí" to the ninth, "Guan" to the tenth, "Bo" to the eleventh, and "Kun" to the twelfth. This shows that the Month卦 was already present in the "Lianshan" and "Guicang" schools of the Book of Changes. Therefore, the Commentary on the Judgment of the "Kun" hexagram and the line statement of the sixth line at the top of the "Kun" hexagram cannot be properly explained without the Month卦—since "Kun" clearly corresponds to the twelfth lunar month, which is the direction of the north, and the north is the direction of "Qian," hence the sixth line says "a dragon fights in the wild." The "Zuo Zhuan" records that when the "Fu" hexagram was divined, it said, "The southern state is in distress, they shoot their king, hitting his eye." This is because the "Fu" hexagram corresponds to the first lunar month and is located in the north, with yang energy moving from north to south. This is especially clear. Later Han dynasty commentators on the Book of Changes often used the Month卦 without explicitly mentioning it, because the Month卦 was well known and did not need to be specially mentioned. Its importance can be seen from this.

八卦圓布四方，各有其位，而先後不同。蓋易之道一動一靜，互為其根。先天方位，乾南坤北，離東坎西，一陰一陽，相偶相對，乃天地自然之法象，靜而無為。惟陰陽相對必相交，坤南交乾，則南方成離；乾北交坤，則北方成坎。先天方位遂變為後天，由靜而動矣，周易所用者是也。然周易雖用後天，後天實由先天禪代而來，不能相離，故說卦首以「天地定位，山澤通氣」演先天卦位之義，再明指後天。誠以經中如坤卦、蹇卦，以坤為西南，從後天位；而既濟九五，則以離為東，坎為西，從先天位，說卦不得不兼釋也。

The eight trigrams are arranged around the four directions, each occupying a specific direction, but the arrangement differs between the Earlier Heaven and Later Heaven. Generally, the Way of the Book of Changes involves movement and stillness, which are fundamental to each other. In the Earlier Heaven arrangement,乾 is in the south, 坤 in the north, 离 in the east, and 坎 in the west. Yin and Yang are paired and opposite, reflecting the natural pattern of heaven and earth, which is still and non-active. However, since yin and yang are opposite, they must interact. When 坤 from the north meets 乾 in the south, the south becomes 离; when 乾 from the south meets 坤 in the north, the north becomes 坎. Thus, the Earlier Heaven arrangement transforms into the Later Heaven arrangement, moving from stillness to activity. The Book of Changes uses the Later Heaven arrangement. However, although the Book of Changes uses the Later Heaven, the Later Heaven actually comes from the Earlier Heaven, and the two cannot be separated. Therefore, the "Say of the Trigrams" first explains the meaning of the Earlier Heaven arrangement with phrases like "Heaven and Earth are positioned, mountains and marshes communicate," and then clearly points out the Later Heaven. This is because the classic text contains both arrangements: for example, the "Hexagram Statement" of the 坤 hexagram and the 蹇 hexagram mention "southwest," placing 坤 in the southwest, which uses the Later Heaven arrangement; while the "Nine in the Fifth" of the 既济 hexagram refers to eastern and western neighbors, placing 离 in the east and 坎 in the west, which uses the Earlier Heaven arrangement. Therefore, the "Say of the Trigrams" must explain both arrangements together.

及後天方位，以說卦明指，人知之；先天方位，至魏晉而失傳。以餘所考得，西漢焦延壽於先天方位無不知，易林皆用之（詳焦氏易詁）。九家注同人曰「乾舍於離，同日而居」，夫曰乾舍於離，是以乾居南也。後荀爽亦曰「乾舍於離，相與同居」，夫曰干與離同居，是亦以乾居南。荀爽又注「陰陽之義配日月」云：「乾舍於離，配日而居；坤舍於坎，配月而居。」是不惟以乾居南，並以坤居北。又注家人云「離巽之中有乾坤」，是以離與乾同位，巽與坤同位，故曰離巽之中有乾坤。

As for the Later Heaven directions, the "Commentary on the Diagrams" clearly states them, and everyone is aware of them; the Earlier Heaven directions, however, were lost by the Wei and Jin dynasties. According to my research, Jiao Yanshou of the Western Han dynasty knew all about the Earlier Heaven directions, and the entire "Forest of Changes" by Jiao's school is based on them (see "Glosses on the Changes" by Jiao). The "Nine Schools of the Changes" commentary on "The Family" says, "The Heaven trigram resides in the Fire trigram, sharing the same day." This means that Heaven is located in the south. Later, Xun Shuang also said, "The Heaven trigram resides in the Fire trigram, sharing the same position," meaning that Heaven and Fire are in the same position, again placing Heaven in the south. Xun Shuang also commented on the "Great Treatise" saying, "The meaning of yin and yang corresponds to the sun and moon." He explained, "Heaven resides in the Fire trigram, corresponding to the sun; Earth resides in the Water trigram, corresponding to the moon." This not only places Heaven in the south but also Earth in the north. In his commentary on "The Family," he also said, "Within the Fire and Wind trigrams lie Heaven and Earth," meaning that Fire and Heaven are in the same position, Wind and Earth are in the same position, so Fire and Wind contain Heaven and Earth. These are the Earlier Heaven directions: Heaven is in the south, Fire is also in the south, Earth is in the southwest, and Wind is also in the southwest.

又鄭玄注月令「季夏，國多風欬」，云「辰之氣乘之也，未屬巽辰，又在冀位」。按季夏為未月，巽初主丑未，故未屬巽辰；又在巽位者，言未在西南，巽亦在西南，故云未在巽位。孔氏不知先天卦位，故此句不能釋。是先天方位在兩漢皆未失傳。至魏管輅，謂乾必宜在南生，以乾位西北為不合，而疑聖人矣，則以先天位已失傳，輅但見其尾，不見其首也。歷魏晉迄唐，無有知者。至宋邵子揭出，易本始大明，而黃梨洲、毛西河等以邵氏所傳本於道士，肆力掊擊，若非是不足以衛道者；而耳食者流不加詳察，懵然從之，成為風氣。

Zheng Xuan annotated the "Monthly Order" in the "Rites" saying, "In the month of the third summer, the country is often afflicted by wind and coughing," and explained, "This is caused by the qi of the Chen position invading, but Chen does not belong to the Xun position, yet it is in the Xun position." (The original text "Ji position" should be a mistake for "Xun position.") According to the season of the third summer being the Wei month, the first line of the Xun trigram governs the Chou and Wei years, so it is said "Wei belongs to Xun." It is also said "it is in the Xun position" because Wei is in the southwest, and the Xun trigram in the Earlier Heaven is also in the southwest, so Wei is in the Xun position. Kong Yingda did not understand the Earlier Heaven trigram positions, so he could not explain this. This shows that the Earlier Heaven positions had not been lost during the Han dynasty. By the time of Guan Lu in the Wei dynasty, he claimed that Qian should definitely be in the south, thinking it unreasonable to place Qian in the northwest, and thus doubted the sages. This was because the Earlier Heaven positions had already been lost by then, and Guan Lu only saw the tail of the Later Heaven, not the head of the Earlier Heaven. From the Wei and Jin dynasties until the Tang dynasty, no one understood the Earlier Heaven positions. It was not until Shao Yong in the Song dynasty that the Earlier Heaven positions were revealed again, and the origin of the Book of Changes was once more clearly understood. However, Huang Zongxi (Lizhou) and Mao Qilin (Xihé) and others, because Shao Yong's transmission came from a Daoist, strongly criticized it, as if not doing so would be insufficient to protect the sacred teachings. Those who spread rumors without careful examination followed blindly, and this became a trend.

實左傳閔二年，大有之幹曰「同復於父，敬如君所」，所者位也，復者復其位也。離變乾，乾為父，故同復於父；乾為君，乾之所在南，離亦在南，故人之敬離位如干位也。又成十六年卦遇復，曰「南國蹙，射其元，王中厥目」，夫乾為王為首，凡學易者皆知之，陽氣自北射南，故離目受咎；乾亦在南，故乾首亦受咎而被射也。杜注但知離在南，故能釋目象；不知乾南，故王象元象不能釋也。又萬裕澐云：左傳「如山嶽則配天」、「風行而著於土」、「川壅為澤」、「震之離亦離之震」，是艮與乾同位西北，巽與坤同位西南，坎兌同位西，震離同位東，左氏已備言之，故荀爽、鄭玄資以注經。他若干鑿度，言先天義尤多也。

In fact, the *Zuo Zhuan* records in the second year of Min Gong that a divination resulted in the hexagram *Da You* changing into *Qian*. It says, "Returning to the father's position, respecting as the king's position." Here, "so" refers to position, and "returning" means returning to its original position. The lower trigram of *Da You* is *Li*, which changes into *Qian*, representing the father. Therefore, it says "returning to the father." *Qian* represents the king, and since *Qian* is located in the south, *Li* is also located in the south, so people respect the position of *Li* as they do the position of *Qian*. In another instance, in the sixteenth year of Cheng Gong, a divination encountered the hexagram *Fu*. It says, "The southern state is squeezed, shooting its head, the king is hit in the eye." *Qian* represents the king and the head, which is well known to those who study the *Yi Jing*. Yang energy moves from north to south, so the eye, represented by *Li*, is harmed. *Qian* is also located in the south, so the head, represented by *Qian*, is also harmed and shot. Du Yu's commentary only knew that *Li* is located in the south, so he could explain "eye"; but since he did not know that *Qian* is located in the south, he could not explain the "king" and "head" images. Wan Yu Dun also said: The phrases in the *Zuo Zhuan* such as "like mountains and hills, matching heaven," "wind moves and settles on the earth," "a river blocked becomes a marsh," and "the shock of *Zhen* is also the shock of *Li*" clearly indicate that *Gen* and *Qian* are both in the northwest, *Xun* and *Kun* are both in the southwest, *Kan* and *Dui* are both in the west, and *Zhen* and *Li* are both in the east. Left丘 Ming had already fully explained these, so Xun Shuang and Zheng Xuan could base their commentaries on them. Other texts like the *Qian Zao Du*, which discuss the earlier heaven meaning, contain even more such explanations. All these clearly show that the earlier heaven directions were not a new idea borrowed by Shao Yong from Daoist sources.

凡春秋人說易，無一字不根於象，漢人亦然。惟古書皆竹簡，本易散亡，王莽亂起，中原經兵燹者十數年，至漢末，西京易說皆亡，獨存孟、京二家，以無師莫能傳習，於是韓宣子所謂易象者頗多失傳。東漢儒者知說易不能離象也，於象之知者說之，其不知者則當敬闕其疑，乃虞翻浪用卦變，鄭玄雜以交辰，虛偽支離，使人難信。王輔嗣遂乘時而起，解縛去澀，掃象不談，唐李鼎祚所謂野文也。自是易遂分為二派。其以輔嗣為宗者，喜其無師可通，顯於晉，大於唐，而莫盛於宋，所謂義理之學也，實所謂義理者於易理無涉。朱子晚年深悟野文之非，低訾程傳先辭後象之顛倒，然卒不敢改其本義，以違忤時尚。易學之衰落，蓋莫甚於此時。

All those who interpreted the Book of Changes during the Spring and Autumn period based their explanations on the trigrams. The same was true of the Han dynasty. However, since ancient texts were written on bamboo slips, they were naturally prone to loss and disappearance. When Wang Mang's rebellion broke out, the Central Plains suffered from warfare for over ten years, and by the end of the Han dynasty, all the interpretations of the Book of Changes from the Western Han had been lost, leaving only those of Meng Xi and Jing Fang. Moreover, because there were no teachers to pass on their teachings, these interpretations could not be transmitted. Thus, the "trigrams" mentioned by Han Xuanzi long ago were largely lost. Scholars of the Eastern Han clearly understood that interpreting the Book of Changes could not be separated from the trigrams. They would explain the trigrams they knew and, for those they did not know, would respectfully hold doubts and refrain from speculation. However, Yu Fan abused the concept of "changing trigrams," while Zheng Xuan introduced "yao chen," creating false and fragmented interpretations that made people lose faith. Wang Bi then took advantage of the situation, freeing himself from these constraints, and stopped discussing the trigrams altogether. This is what Li Dingzuo criticized in his commentary as "wild texts." From then on, the study of the Book of Changes split into two schools. One school, following Wang Bi, preferred interpretations that could be understood without a teacher, and it became prominent in the Jin dynasty, flourished in the Tang dynasty, and reached its peak in the Song dynasty. This is called "learning through meaning and reason." In reality, the "meaning and reason" they discussed had nothing to do with the true principles of the Book of Changes. Zhu Xi, in his later years, deeply realized the errors in the "wild texts" approach and criticized Cheng Yi's commentary on the Book of Changes for reversing the order by first discussing the text and then the trigrams. However, he was ultimately too afraid to change his own "Original Meaning of the Zhou Changes," fearing he would go against the prevailing trend. The decline of the study of the Book of Changes was never more severe than during this period.

其以荀虞為宗者，號為漢易，以別於野文家，極力復古。惟其所宗，適當易象失傳之後，於象之不知者仍用卦變爻變，奉虞氏遺法為天經地義。於是焦循變本加厲，於象之不知、義之不能通者，以一卦變為六十四以求其解，其弊遂與談空者等。然漢學家於訓詁必求其真，無空滑之病，少越軌之談，一洗元明以來講章之霾霧，於初學較便也。

The school that took Xu Shuang and Yu Fan as its main representatives is known as "Han Yi," distinguishing itself from the "wild texts" school, and it strongly advocated a return to antiquity. However, the era they revered had already come after the loss of the Yi images; when encountering unfamiliar images, they still resorted to "changes of the hexagrams" and "changes of the lines," treating Yu Fan's methods as absolute. By the Qing dynasty, Jiao Xun took this even further, allowing any hexagram to generate all sixty-four hexagrams whenever the image was not recognized or the meaning was unclear. The consequences of this approach were even comparable to those of the school that engaged in empty discussions of principles. However, Han scholars always required accuracy in philological study, avoiding superficial and careless interpretations, and rarely made wild conjectures. Thus, they cleared away the confusion of the commentaries from the Yuan and Ming dynasties, making their approach more convenient for beginners.

乾。元亨利貞。

The Hexagram Statement of the Qian Hexagram is the four characters "Yuan, Heng, Li, Zhen." Qian is the first of the sixty-four hexagrams, with all six lines being yang. "Yuan" represents the beginning of all things, "Heng" signifies smoothness and passage, "Li" denotes harmony and benefit, and "Zhen" means uprightness and firmness. According to Shang's interpretation, these four virtues are respectively associated with spring, summer, autumn, winter and east, south, west, north, cycling continuously without end.

說卦「乾，健也」。於夏傳「元，始也；亨，通也；利，和也；貞，正也」。蓋天之體以健為用，而天之德莫大於四時。元亨利貞即春夏秋冬，即東南西北，震元、離亨、兌利、坎貞，往來循環，不忒不窮，周易之名即以此也。後儒釋此者莫過於太玄。玄文云：「罔、直、蒙、酋、冥。罔，北方也，冬也，未有形也。直，東方也，春也，直而未有文也。蒙，南方也，夏出，物之修長也。酋，西方也，秋也，物皆成象而就也。有形則復於無形，故曰冥。故萬物罔乎北，直乎東，蒙乎南，酋乎西，冥乎北。罔舍其氣，直觸其類，蒙極其修，酋考其就，冥反其奧。罔蒙相極，直酋相敕，出冥入冥，新故代更，將來者進，成功者退，已用則賤，當時則貴。」按大玄闡發此四字之理，至矣盡矣，除彖傳外，無此深奧明晰之解釋也。

The "Commentary on the Hexagrams" says: "Qian represents strength and vigor." Zixia's Commentary on the Changes says: "Yuan is the beginning, Heng is the通畅, Li is harmony, and Zhen is uprightness." Basically, the nature of Heaven is characterized by strength and vigor, and its virtues have none greater than the four seasons. Yuan, Heng, Li, and Zhen correspond to spring, summer, autumn, and winter, which in turn correspond to east, south, west, and north: Zhen governs spring and is paired with Yuan, Li governs summer and is paired with Heng, Dui governs autumn and is paired with Li, and Kan governs winter and is paired with Zhen. These cycles proceed in a continuous and complete manner; the name "Zhou Changes" (I Ching) originates from this. Among later interpretations of these four terms, Yang Xiong's "Tai Xuan" is the most profound. The "Xuan Wen" describes five stages: "Wang," "Zhi," "Meng," "Chou," and "Ming." "Wang" belongs to the north, representing winter, when all things have not yet taken form; "Zhi" belongs to the east, representing spring, when things sprout upward without yet displaying color; "Meng" belongs to the south, representing summer, when all things emerge in a state of confusion and gradually grow longer; "Chou" belongs to the west, representing autumn, when all things have taken form and reach their completion; after taking form, they return to an invisible state, hence called "Ming." Therefore, all things are "Wang" in the north, "Zhi" in the east, "Meng" in the south, "Chou" in the west, and "Ming" in the north again: during "Wang," the original qi is stored; during "Zhi," the kind is triggered; during "Meng," growth reaches its peak; during "Chou," achievement is assessed; and during "Ming," it returns to its profound essence. "Wang" and "Meng" are opposite extremes, while "Zhi" and "Chou" complement each other; from "Ming" it returns to "Ming," with old and new alternating, the future advancing, success retreating, the used becoming lowly, and the present becoming esteemed. Note: The "Tai Xuan" thoroughly explains the meaning of these four terms, reaching the ultimate level; apart from the "Commentary on the Judgment," there is no other interpretation as profound and clear.

其所謂直、蒙、酋，即震春、離夏、兌秋，即元亨利也；所謂罔、冥，即坎冬，即貞也。必以二字擬貞者，蓋以子復為界。子復者，冬至也，故由亥坤至子復為冥，由子復至泰寅為罔。罔，不直也。冬至以後，萬物雖枉屈，不能見形於外，然陽氣已生，與冬至前之冥然罔覺者異矣，故曰「罔舍其氣」。舍者，蓄也，養也，即彖傳所謂保合太和也。或曰：彖傳釋此純指天道，然彖不曰春夏秋冬，必曰元亨利貞者何也？曰：乾之德無所不統，無所不包，言元亨利貞，則天時人事盡括於其中。

Yang Xiong's terms "zhi, meng, qiu" refer to Zhen in spring, Li in summer, and Dui in autumn, which correspond to yuan, heng, li. The terms "wang, ming" refer to Kan in winter, which corresponds to zhen. Why does Yang Xiong use two characters to represent "zhen"? Because he uses the hexagram "Fu" in the month of Zi as a dividing point. The hexagram "Fu" in the month of Zi corresponds to the winter solstice. Therefore, the period from the hexagram "Kun" in the month of Hai to the hexagram "Fu" in the month of Zi is called "ming," and the period from the hexagram "Fu" in the month of Zi to the hexagram "Tai" in the month of Yin is called "wang." "Wang" means not yet straight: after the winter solstice, although all things are still coiled and cannot show their forms externally, yang energy has already begun to sprout, and this is different from the state of being completely unaware before the winter solstice. Therefore, it is said "wang she qi qi," where "she" means to nurture and to cultivate, which is exactly what the "Commentary on the Judgment" of the hexagram "Qian" refers to as "bao he tai he." Someone might ask: the "Commentary on the Judgment" explains these four characters purely in terms of the heavenly way, so why does it not directly refer to spring, summer, autumn, and winter, but instead use yuan, heng, li, and zhen? The answer is: the virtue of Qian encompasses everything and includes all things. By using "yuan, heng, li, zhen," it includes both the heavenly time and human affairs.

惟此四字，義蘊宏深，非一解所能盡。彖傳、象傳皆釋貞為正，而大貞、小貞、不可貞、貞吝、貞凶、不利君子貞，義皆不通。而彖象傳遇此皆不釋，似委為不知而闕疑者。文言曰，貞固足以乾事，又釋貞為固，然於貞凶、貞吝等辭，仍不能通。此彖象傳與文言不同也。

The four characters "yuan, heng, li, zhen" have broad and profound meanings that cannot be fully explained by a single interpretation. Both the "彖传" and "象传" interpret "zhen" as "zheng" (correctness), but in the "卦爻辞" there are expressions such as "da zhen," "xiao zhen," "bu ke zhen," "zhen lin," "zhen xiong," and "bu li junzi zhen," which cannot all be explained by taking "zhen" as "zheng." Moreover, when encountering these expressions, the "彖传" and "象传" do not provide explanations, as if they themselves do not understand and choose to remain silent. The "文言" says "zhen gu zuo yi qian shi," interpreting "zhen" as "gu" (firmness), but even using "gu" to explain terms like "zhen xiong" and "zhen lin" still does not make sense. This is where the interpretations in the "彖传," "象传," and "文言" are inconsistent with each other.

至於貞吝、貞凶、不利君子貞，其義與乾元亨利貞之貞，絕不相同。案《周禮·春官》，天府季冬陳玉，貞來歲之媺惡，注：貞謂問於龜卜。鄭司農曰：貞，問也。《易》曰：師貞丈人吉。又《左傳》哀十七年，衛侯貞卜；《國語》貞於陽卜，皆以貞為卜問。而師貞丈人吉，前鄭引以解《周禮》，是以貞為卜問，已有先例。愚以為大貞、小貞、貞吝、貞凶、不利君子貞，皆宜詁作卜問，與乾元亨利貞之貞，判然為二義，不得混同。五經字同而義異者多矣，不獨此也。蓋貞有正義，又有貞固、貞定二義，朱子兼採之，曰貞正而固也。豈知兼二義，仍不能盡通。近儒王陶廬先生又以全易貞字皆釋作卜問，於文理可通矣。然若乾之利貞，亦釋作卜問，則乾德不全矣，似不盡協也。

As for the term 「贞」 in expressions like 「贞吝」, 「贞凶」, and 「不利君子贞」, it is entirely different from the 「贞」 in the乾卦's 「元亨利贞」. According to the record in the 「Zhou Li · Chun Guan」, the duties of the天府 (Treasury Office) include, in the last month of winter, displaying jade objects and 「贞来岁之媺恶」 (divining the good or bad of the coming year). Zheng Xuan's commentary says that 「贞」 refers to asking questions by divination with a turtle shell. Zheng Zhong (an earlier commentator, also known as Zheng Si Nong) also says that 「贞」 means 「asking」, and cites the line 「师贞丈人吉」 from the 「Book of Changes」 (Yijing) as evidence. In the 「Zuo Zhuan」, the 17th year of Duke Ai's reign, there is 「卫侯贞卜」, and in the 「Guoyu」, there is 「贞于阳卜」, both of which treat 「贞」 as divination. The line 「师贞丈人吉」 was also used by Zheng Zhong to explain the 「Zhou Li」, indicating that interpreting the 「贞」 in the 「Yijing」 as divination had precedent. I believe that 「大贞」, 「小贞」, 「贞吝」, 「贞凶」, and 「不利君子贞」 should all be interpreted as divination, and this is entirely different from the 「贞」 in the乾卦's 「元亨利贞」. They cannot be confused. There are many instances in the Five Classics where the same character has different meanings, not only in this case. Originally, 「贞」 had the meaning of 「correctness」, and also the meanings of 「firmness」 and 「stability」. Zhu Xi combined these meanings, saying that 「贞 is correct and firm」. However, even if we take both meanings into account, it is still not always coherent. Modern scholar Wang TaoLu further interprets all instances of 「贞」 in the entire 「Yijing」 as divination, which is consistent with the textual logic. However, if we also interpret the 「利贞」 in the乾卦 as divination, then the virtue of the乾卦 would be incomplete, and this seems rather inappropriate.

蓋元亨利貞，合之為乾德，分之為八卦之德，故即為六十四卦之根本。象或曰亨，或曰元亨，或曰貞，或曰利貞，或曰亨利貞，或曰利貞亨，或曰元亨利貞，似以此四德為衡量卦德之準的者。然如無妄凶卦也，亦曰元亨利貞，則似別有標識，而非論卦德。

"The four virtues 'yuan, heng, li, zhen' together represent the complete virtue of the Qian trigram, but when separated, they correspond to the virtues of each of the eight trigrams. Therefore, they serve as the foundation for the sixty-four hexagrams. The hexagram statements may mention only 'heng,' or 'yuan heng,' or only 'zhen,' or 'li zhen,' or 'heng li zhen,' or 'li zhen heng,' or 'yuan heng li zhen.' It appears that these four virtues are used as a standard to measure the virtue of a hexagram. However, for example, the hexagram 'Wu Wang' is inherently a凶 (凶 means 'auspicious' or 'unfavorable' in this context, but it's better translated as 'unfavorable' here) hexagram, yet its hexagram statement also says 'yuan heng li zhen.' This suggests another kind of symbolic function, not necessarily indicating the level of virtue of the hexagram."

端木國瑚曰：易遇東南方春夏之卦，則曰元亨；遇西北方秋冬之卦，則曰利貞。由其言推之，屯下震春也，故曰元亨，上坎冬也，故曰利貞；隨下震春也，故曰元亨，上兌秋也，故曰利貞；臨下互震故曰元亨，上坤下兌，故曰利貞；無妄下震故曰元亨，上乾為冬，故曰利貞；革下離互巽，故曰元亨，上兌為秋，互乾為冬，故曰利貞。其餘雖不盡當，然大概如是也。

Duanmu Guohu said: In the Book of Changes, whenever a hexagram belongs to the qi of the East or the South, or the seasons of spring and summer, it is said to be "Yuan Heng"; whenever it belongs to the qi of the West or the North, or the seasons of autumn and winter, it is said to be "Li Zhen". Following his reasoning: the Zun hexagram has its lower trigram Zhen, which represents spring, so it is said to be "Yuan Heng"; its upper trigram Kan represents winter, so it is said to be "Li Zhen". The Suo hexagram has its lower trigram Zhen, representing spring, so it is said to be "Yuan Heng"; its upper trigram Dui represents autumn, so it is said to be "Li Zhen". The Lin hexagram has its lower trigram Zhen, so it is said to be "Yuan Heng"; its upper trigram Kun and the presence of Dui in the interacting trigrams represent autumn, so it is said to be "Li Zhen". The Wuwang hexagram has its lower trigram Zhen, so it is said to be "Yuan Heng"; its upper trigram Qian is located at the亥 position, which belongs to winter, so it is said to be "Li Zhen". The Ge hexagram has its lower trigram Li and the presence of Xun in the interacting trigrams, so it is said to be "Yuan Heng"; its upper trigram Dui belongs to autumn and the presence of Qian in the interacting trigrams belongs to winter, so it is said to be "Li Zhen". Other hexagrams may not all conform perfectly, but they generally follow this pattern.

總之元亨利貞，春夏秋冬，東南西北，仁義禮智，一二三四，茲數者，合之一之，混之同之，融會貫通，遺貌御神，天人不分，陶冶既久，然後知此四字，已括盡易理，非言詮所能盡。而能申其義者，前惟彖傳，後惟楊子云。

In summary, groups such as yuan, heng, li, zhen; spring, summer, autumn, winter; southeast, northwest; ren, yi, li, zhi; and one, two, three, four, should be merged into one, made into a single whole, and integrated thoroughly. We should discard external forms and directly grasp their essence, so that the way of heaven and human affairs are no longer divided. Only after long immersion and cultivation can one realize that the four characters yuan, heng, li, zhen fully encompass the principles of the Book of Changes, beyond the reach of verbal explanation. And among those who could clarify this meaning, there was Yang Xiong (Zi Yun) before and none after.

初九：潛龍勿用。九者，老陽之數，動之所占。潛，隱也。陽息初復，一陽伏群陰之下，故曰潛。物莫神於龍，故借龍以喻陽氣。復子時當冬至，一陽初生，伏藏地下，故曰勿用。又卦位初為士，未出世之君子，德亦如是也。

The first line statement says: "A dragon is hidden and should not be used." The term "nine" is used because nine represents the number of an old yang line, and in divination, when a nine appears, it indicates a moving line, which is the line that is changing. "Hidden" means concealed. Yang energy begins to grow from the bottom, and in the first of the twelve hexagrams of the changing cycle, called the hexagram of return, there is one yang line hidden among many yin lines, so it is called "hidden." Among all things, there is nothing more mysterious and unpredictable than a dragon, so a dragon is used as a metaphor for yang energy. The hexagram of return corresponds to the month of Zi, which is the time of winter solstice, when the first yang energy has just begun to emerge and is still hidden underground, hence the statement "should not be used." In terms of the position of the line, the first line corresponds to the status of a scholar who has not yet entered official service, and his virtue is similar to this hidden yang energy.

九二：見龍在田，利見大人。初二於三才為地，二在地上，故稱田。乾為大人。二雖不當位而居中，利見者，言大人宜於此時出見也。鄭康成謂利見九五之大人，非，五無應也。陽息至二臨，陽出地上，由潛而顯，大人亦如此也。

The Line Statement for the Second Line (Nine in the Second): Seeing the dragon in the field, it is advantageous to see the great man. The six lines correspond to the three realms, with the first and second lines belonging to the earth. The Second Line is above the earth, hence called 'field.' The trigram Qian has the image of the great man. Although the Nine in the Second is a yang line in a yin position and thus not properly positioned, it is in the center of the lower trigram and thus has the right position. The term 'advantageous to see' means that the great man should emerge at this time. Zheng Xuan (Kangcheng) said this refers to seeing the Nine in the Fifth, the great man, but this is incorrect: both the Nine in the Second and the Nine in the Fifth are yang lines, and two yang lines do not correspond, so they cannot be said to meet. When the yang energy reaches the Second Line, it is the message trigram Lin, where yang has risen above the earth, changing from concealment to manifestation. The emergence of the great man is also like this.

九三：君子終日乾乾，夕惕若，厲無咎。乾為君子，為大明，故為日。晉順而麗乎大明，大明謂離日也，故乾亦為日。《易林》困之泰云：陰雲四方，日在中央。以泰上坤為雲，下乾為日也。又蹇之咸云：日月並居。以咸上兌為月，互乾為日。餘證尚多，皆詳《焦氏易詁》中。三居下卦之終，故曰終日、曰夕。惕，憂思也；厲，危也。憂危故無咎。陽息至三泰，萬物思奮，人事亦如是。三四於三才為人爻，人居天地之中，宜乾惕有為也。厲，許慎作夤，後易家多從之，而文言作厲，並以危釋厲義。注莫古於十翼，似當從也。

The line statement for the third line says: A gentleman is diligent and tireless all day, still cautious and alert at dusk, though in a dangerous situation, there is no fault. The trigram Qian has the image of a gentleman and also that of great brightness, thus also representing the sun. The Commentary on the Judgment of the hexagram Jin says, "smooth and bright in the great brightness," where "great brightness" refers to Li representing the sun, thus indicating that Qian can also represent the sun. In Jiao's Forest of Changes, the hexagram Kuan leading to Tai says, "dark clouds in all directions, the sun in the center," which takes the upper trigram of Tai as Kun representing clouds and the lower trigram as Qian representing the sun; and in the hexagram Jian leading to Xian, it says, "sun and moon together," which takes the upper trigram of Xian as Dui representing the moon and the interacting trigram as Qian representing the sun. There are many such supporting evidences, all thoroughly recorded in my work Jiao's Glosses on the Changes. The third line is at the end of the lower trigram, hence it says "all day" and "dusk." "Tì" means worry and alertness, "lì" means danger; because one is alert to danger, there is no fault. Yang energy grows to the third line, which is the hexagram Tai, the hexagram of mutual increase, at which time all things are vigorous, and human affairs should be like this. The third and fourth lines belong to the human line in the three realms, and since humans are in the center of heaven and earth, they should be diligent, cautious, and active. The character "lì" is cited by Xu Shen in Shuowen as "yín," and later commentators on the Changes mostly followed Xu's interpretation; but the Wenyan uses "lì" and explains it with "danger." There is no commentary older than the Ten Wings, so it seems appropriate to follow the Wenyan.

九四：或躍在淵，無咎。《易林》、九家、荀爽皆以乾為江河，故乾亦為淵。躍，起也。四居上卦之下，故曰躍淵。或者，言事不一定，可則為之，慎審而行，故無咎也。陽息至四大壯，百果草木甲坼之時也。

The fourth line statement says: "Perhaps leap from the abyss, no blame." In Jiao's Forest of Changes, the Nine Schools of Commentaries on the Book of Changes, and Xun Shuang, the trigram Qian is interpreted as a river or river. The deep part of a river is called an abyss, so Qian also has the extraordinary image of an abyss. "Leap" means to rise up. The ninth line at the fourth position is in the lowest position of the upper trigram, which is just rising from the lower trigram, so it is said to "leap" and "abyss." "Perhaps" indicates that the matter is not certain, so one should act only when the time is right, be cautious before advancing, hence there is no blame. The yang energy grows to the fourth line, which is the great strength hexagram, exactly the time when all fruits and grasses begin to crack open their shells and sprout.

九五：飛龍在天，利見大人。五於三才為天位，又為天子位，貴而得中，故曰飛龍在天。大人於此，居極尊之位，履萬物之上，嚮明而治，聖人作而萬物睹，故亦曰利見大人。九五陽息至五夬，萬物繁榮，相見之時也。

The Line Statement of the Fifth Line: A dragon soars in the heavens, advantageous to see a great person. The Fifth Line belongs to the heavenly position among the three realms, and it is also the position of the Son of Heaven. It is both noble and located in the center of the Upper Trigram, hence it is said, "A dragon soars in the heavens." A great person in this position holds the highest authority, surpassing all things, facing the light and governing, as stated in the Wenyan, "The sage arises and all things become visible," hence it is also said, "Advantageous to see a great person." The yang energy reaches its peak at the Fifth Line, corresponding to the message hexagram Guai. At this time, all things flourish abundantly, and it is precisely the time for mutual meeting.

上九：亢龍有悔。王肅曰：窮高曰亢。上九居卦之極，故曰窮；在六爻之上，故曰高，高則易危，窮則事盡，故有悔。按乾盈於巳，盈則虧，滿則損，乃天道之自然。《太玄》云：成功者退。又中首次六云：月闕其搏，不如開明於西。是其理也。

The line statement for the topmost line (Upper Nine) is: "A dragon soaring high brings regret." Wang Su said: When something reaches its extreme and rises to a high position, it is called "excess" (亢). The Upper Nine is at the top of a hexagram, so it is called "extreme" (穷); it is at the top of the six lines, so it is called "high" (高). Being high is prone to danger, and reaching an extreme means the matter has reached its end, hence there is regret. According to the trigram Qian, the yang energy is full in the fourth lunar month (巳月). When full, it must decline; when complete, it must diminish. This is the natural law of heaven. Yang Xiong's "Tai Xuan" says "those who achieve success should retreat"; also, in the first of the six sections in "Tai Xuan," it says "the moon lacks its fullness, and is not as bright as when it first appears in the west"—when the moon is fully round, it begins to wane, which is not as good as when it first shines in the west. This is exactly the same principle.

用九：見群龍無首，吉。此文王以筮例示人也。易之本為六七八九，七九陽，八六陰。今遇陽胡以只言九，不言七，則以周易以九為用，與二易殊也。用者，動也變也。用九者，言遇九則動，遇七則不動。若作用舍詁，則周易竟不用七八矣。不用七八，則揲蓍時常不遇九六，將何以為占。蓋九六占爻，七八占彖之義，治易者十六七皆忽之，故其義常晦。見群龍無首吉者，申遇九則變之義也。九何以必變，陽之數九為極多，故曰群。陽極反陰，乃天地自然之理。乾為首，以陽剛居物首，易招物忌，變坤則無首，無首則能以柔濟剛，故吉。無，《說文》云奇字，王育謂天屈西北為無。

Use nine: seeing a multitude of dragons without a leader, it is auspicious. This is how King Wen used the method of divination to instruct later generations. The numbers obtained through divination are originally six, seven, eight, and nine. Seven and nine are yang numbers, while six and eight are yin numbers. Now, when encountering a yang line, why is it only said to be nine and not seven? Because the Zhou Changes use nine as the active number, which is different from the Lianshan and Guicang. "Use" means movement and change. So "use nine" means that when nine is encountered in divination, it changes, but when seven is encountered, it does not. If "use" is interpreted as taking or discarding, then would the Zhou Changes not use seven and eight at all? If they do not use seven and eight, yet often encounter nine and six when divining, then what would be used for divination? In reality, nine and six are used for the line statements, while seven and eight are used for the hexagram statements (the彖辞). Sixty percent of those who study the Zhou Changes have overlooked this meaning, so its principles have always been obscure. The phrase "seeing a multitude of dragons without a leader, it is auspicious" clearly explains the principle that when nine is encountered, it changes. Why must nine change? Nine is the largest of the yang numbers, and because it is large, it is called "multitude." When yang reaches its extreme, it turns into yin, which is a natural principle of heaven and earth. The Qian trigram has the image of a leader, with yang strength at the head of all things, which easily invites the resentment of external things; when it changes into the Kun trigram, it becomes "without a leader," and without a leader allows for the harmonization of softness and strength, hence it is auspicious. The character "wu" (no), according to Shuowen Jiezi, is a strange character. Wang Yu explains it as the heavens bending in the northwest, where the place is empty, hence it is called "wu."

此節自古說者常有數蔽：見說吉即疑為占辭，不知其申用九之義，一蔽也；見說群龍，即疑群龍指上六爻，不知其言九，二蔽也；見說群龍無首，即疑六爻全變，不知其指揲蓍之三變成一爻言，三蔽也；甚至以此為爻辭，四蔽也；籠統浮泛，銓釋乾健大義，五蔽也。豈知六十四卦六爻之後，獨乾坤二卦有此贅語者，誠以乾坤者陰陽，六十四卦皆乾爻坤爻所積而成。乃乾卦只言九不言七，坤只言六不言八，不申明其故，揲蓍者胡所遵循。故於乾坤六爻之後，申曰用九用六。復恐人不解用九用六之義，又曰見群龍無首吉、利永貞也。其詳說皆在《周易古筮考》中。

This passage has been subject to many misunderstandings throughout history. First, people often doubt that it is a divination statement because it says "auspicious," not realizing that it is explaining the meaning of "use of all nines." Second, when it mentions "a group of dragons," people often think it refers to the six lines of the hexagram, not realizing it refers to the number nine. Third, when it says "a group of dragons without a leader," people often think it refers to all six lines changing, not realizing it refers to the process of divination by casting yarrow stalks three times to form one line. Fourth, some even treat it as a single line statement. Fifth, people generally use it to explain the qualities of the乾 hexagram, such as its strength and firmness, without understanding its deeper meaning. How could it be that among the sixty-four hexagrams, only the乾 and坤 hexagrams have such a seemingly redundant statement? It is because乾 and坤 represent yin and yang, and all sixty-four hexagrams are formed by the accumulation of lines from these two. However, the乾 hexagram only mentions the number nine and not seven, and the坤 hexagram only mentions six and not eight. If the reason for this is not explained, how could those casting yarrow stalks know how to proceed? Therefore, after the six lines of the乾 and坤 hexagrams, the text specifically explains "use of all nines" and "use of all sixes." To prevent misunderstanding, it further states "a group of dragons without a leader is auspicious" and "favorable for maintaining constancy." A detailed discussion of these points can be found in my work, The Ancient Divination of the Zhou Yi.

彖曰：大哉乾元，萬物資始，乃統天。《繫辭》云：彖者材也。材、財通，《孟子》有達財者；而財與裁通，泰傳后以財成天地之道，漢人上書伏惟裁察，每作財察。然則材即斷也，即裁度也。元亨利貞者，彖辭也，此則釋彖者，先儒名曰彖傳，十翼之一也。自太史公、楊子云、班固，皆以為孔子作。乾元者，乾之元氣也，於時配春，故曰資始。統，《說文》紀也；《史記·樂書》樂統同，注統領也。統天者，言乾元之德統領萬物，總治一切。九家釋統為繼，謂乾德統繼天道，後諸家又有訓統為始為本為合者，皆非也。按此釋元義。

The Commentary on the Judgment says: How great is the Primordial Power of Heaven! All things depend on it to begin. It governs the Way of Heaven. The Great Treatise says, "The term 'tu' means 'material'." "Material" is synonymous with "wealth," as mentioned in the Mencius with the phrase "those who reach wealth." "Wealth" is also synonymous with "to cut," as seen in the Great Commentary of the Tai hexagram, which says, "the ruler uses it to regulate the Way of Heaven and Earth," and in Han dynasty documents, the phrase "I humbly beg you to cut and examine" is often written as "I humbly beg you to wealth and examine." Thus, "material" means decision and regulation. "Yuan, Heng, Li, Zhen" are the statements of the hexagram (the hexagram statement), and here it is the explanation of the hexagram statement. Previously, this was called the Commentary on the Judgment, one of the Ten Wings. From Sima Qian, Yang Xiong to Ban Gu, they all believed it was composed by Confucius. "Qian Yuan" refers to the primordial energy of Heaven, which corresponds to the four seasons and belongs to spring, thus saying that all things "draw their beginning" from it. The character "tong" is explained in the Shuowen as "to govern." In the Records of the Grand Historian, "music tongs together" is annotated as "to govern." "Tong Tian" means that the virtue of Qian Yuan governs all things and oversees everything. The Nine Schools of the Book of Changes interpret "tong" as "to follow," saying that the virtue of Qian follows the Way of Heaven. Later interpretations have also explained "tong" as beginning, as the root, or as unity, but these are all incorrect. According to this sentence, it is explaining the meaning of "Yuan."

雲行雨施，品物流形。此釋亨義，於時配夏。乾交坤成坎，坎為雲為雨，故曰云行而施。坤為品物，乾入坤，故曰流形。乾施坤受，和而為雨，品物潤澤，萬物潔齊，相見乎離，亨之義也。

Clouds and mist circulate, rain descends, and various phenomena flow and take shape. This explains the meaning of "hen," which corresponds to the season of summer. When Qian (Heaven) interacts with Kun (Earth), the trigram Kan (Water) is formed. Kan represents clouds and rain, so it is said "clouds move and spread." Kun represents the diversity of things, and when Qian enters Kun, it is said "forms flow." Qian gives and Kun receives; the two energies interact and descend as rain, benefiting all creatures. This aligns with the "Say on the Trigrams" which mentions "all things are clean and orderly" and "meeting at Li (Fire)" which describes the summer scene. This is the meaning of "hen."

大明終始，六位時成，時乘六龍以御天。此釋利義，於時配秋。乾為日，故曰大明。日始於離，終於坎，以成晝夜；積晝夜以成四時。六位者六爻，爻各有時，時而至秋，萬物成熟，故曰時成。《太玄》擬之曰：酋，西方也，秋也，萬物皆成象而就。釋時成之義也。文言曰：利，義之和也。兌正秋，兌悅故和，秋成故利也。然乾之六時，果何屬乎。六龍者六陽，乾陽卦，故其所乘之時皆陽時，即子寅辰午申戌，《乾鑿度》所謂乾貞十一月子，左行陽時六是也。言乾而乾三子可知。若坤之所乘，則六陰時，《乾鑿度》所謂坤貞六月未，右行陰時六是也。時乘六龍以御天，即言乾乘六陽時以統御天道。自漢以來，不知時乘六龍，即乾乘六陽時，籠統解說，與上句六位時成無以異，而傳義愈晦矣。

The movement of the sun continues throughout the cycle, with the six lines of the hexagram following the order of time, and the six dragons governing the heavenly way according to the time. This explains the meaning of "beneficial," which corresponds to the season of autumn. The trigram Qian has the image of the sun, so it is called "great brightness." The sun rises in Li (east) and sets in Kan (north), one rising and one setting forming day and night, and the accumulation of day and night forming the four seasons. The "six positions" refer to the six lines, each line corresponding to a particular time. When the time reaches autumn, all things mature, so it is said "time is completed." Yang Xiong's "Ta Xuan" follows this by establishing "chou" as the beginning, saying "chou is the west, autumn, and the image of all things being completed and achieved," which is precisely explaining the meaning of "time is completed." The "Wenyan" says "beneficial means the harmony of righteousness": Dui corresponds to the proper autumn, and since Dui represents joy, it is called "harmony," and since autumn is the season of harvest, it is called "beneficial." So what season does the six lines of Qian belong to? The "six dragons" refer to the six yang lines. Qian is a pure yang trigram, so the times it governs are all yang times, namely Zi, Yin, Chen, Wu, Shen, and Xu. The "Qian Zao Du" says "Qian's pure time is the eleventh month of Zi, moving left through the six yang times," referring to this. If we say this about Qian, then its three son trigrams (Zhen, Kan, Gen) can be similarly inferred. As for the times governed by Kun, they are the six yin times. The "Qian Zao Du" says "Kun's pure time is the sixth month of Wei, moving right through the six yin times," referring to this. "Time riding the six dragons to govern the heavens" means that Qian governs these six yang times to rule the heavenly way. Since the Han dynasty people did not understand "time riding the six dragons" as referring to Qian governing the six yang times, they gave a general explanation, making no distinction from the previous sentence "six positions and time completed," thus making the original meaning of the "Tuan Zhuan" even more obscure.

乾道變化，各正性命，保合太和，乃利貞。此釋貞義，於時為冬。萬物自有而入無，由動而之靜，故曰變化。《太玄》擬貞為冥，曰：有形則復於無形，故曰冥。又曰：冥者明之藏也。出冥入冥，新故代更，人冥者變，出冥者變後而化也。變化者天道必然之理也。性命者精神，太和者元氣，正者定也。《周禮·天官》，宰夫令群吏正歲會、正月要，注正定也。各正性命者，言萬物入冬而形氣定也。保合者固也，保合太和，言萬物靜定而無為，正所以養育其生命也。各正性命，保合太和，略如人人夜寢息，休養神明。《繫辭》云：尺蠖之屈，以求信也；龍蛇之蟄，以存身也；精義入神，以致用也。正謂此也。貞者元之本，元者貞之著，下文曰首出庶物，即貞下啟元之義也。後儒舍冬義，以既濟定說貞者，皆未當也。

Heaven's way brings about change, each thing establishes its nature and destiny, preserves and unites the great harmony, thus benefiting and being correct. This explains the meaning of 'Zhen'. It corresponds to the four seasons and winter. All things move from 'having' to 'non-having', from activity to stillness, hence it is called 'change'. Yang Xiong in his work 'Tai Xuan' uses 'ming' to compare with 'Zhen', saying 'when there is form, it returns to formless, thus it is called ming'. He also says 'ming is the hidden aspect of brightness'. Going out from ming and returning to ming, the new and the old alternate; entering ming is called 'change', while exiting ming is the transformation after change. Change is an inherent principle of heaven's way. 'Xingming' refers to spirit, 'Taihe' refers to original qi, and 'zheng' means stability. In the 'Zhou Li · Tian Gao', the official 'Zai Fu' is responsible for 'commanding all officials to establish the annual meeting and the monthly requirements', and Zheng's annotation says 'zheng means to establish'. 'Each thing establishes its nature and destiny' means that after all things enter winter, their forms and qi become stable. 'Baohe' means to guard and unite; 'Baohe Taihe' means that all things are still and inactive, which is precisely how life is cultivated. 'Each thing establishes its nature and destiny, Baohe Taihe' is roughly like a person resting at night and cultivating his spirit. The 'Great Treatise' says 'the inchworm bends to seek extension; the dragon and snake hibernate to preserve itself; the refined meaning enters the divine, thus achieving utility', which explains exactly this principle. 'Zhen' is the fundamental of 'Yuan', and 'Yuan' is the manifestation of 'Zhen'; the following text says 'first emerging among all things', which means 'Zhen' initiating 'Yuan'. Later scholars abandoned the original meaning of 'Zhen' corresponding to winter, and instead explained 'Zhen' as the 'Ji Ji' (completion) of the six lines each being correct, which is inappropriate.

首出庶物，萬國咸寧。元亨利貞，相循環者也。貞非寂滅無為也，乃所以植元亨之基。故夫冬盡春來，貞久元至。首出庶物者，元也，言又復始也。春生震仁，故曰咸寧。萬國咸寧者，言如聖君當陽首出，萬邦有慶也。

The first to emerge is the origin of all things, and all the nations are at peace. The four virtues of Yuan, Heng, Li, and Zhen are cyclical and recurring. "Zhen" is not about being inactive or extinguished, but rather about cultivating the foundation for "Yuan" and "Heng." Therefore, after winter comes spring, and when "Zhen" is maintained for a long time, "Yuan" arrives. "The first to emerge among all things" refers to "Yuan," meaning the heavenly way begins anew. In spring, all things flourish, corresponding to the Zhen trigram and benevolence, hence "all nations are at peace." "All nations are at peace" means that just as a sage ruler occupies the yang position and is the first among all things, all the nations under heaven thus receive blessings.

乾彖傳簡括宏深，自非聖於易者，不能為也。自漢以來，除《太玄》外，無有明其義者，而詁六龍為六位、利貞為既濟定，尤謬誤之大者。首出庶物二語，解者皆不誤矣，而皆不知於元亨利貞之後，再綴此語者，乃所以示四德循環之義。朱子云：不貞則無以為元。又曰：四德循環無端。知此義矣，乃訖未明指再綴此語之故。豈知六龍與六位無別，則六龍句為贅語；首出庶物與萬物資始理同，而不疏其循環之義，則首出句又為贅語，烏乎可哉。揆厥原因，皆由不確知元亨利貞，即春夏秋冬，即東南西北。彖傳與文言雖未明言，固皆本此為義，特義奧語文，後儒遂歧於索解。及楊子云揭出春夏秋冬、東南西北二義，然後知彖傳所言者，皆元亨利貞之原理，及其所以然，義遂明徹。然罔直蒙酋冥之演元亨利貞，除范望、司馬溫公外，他儒無言者，於以知《太玄》之難讀，等於易也。

The Commentary on the Judgment of the Qian Hexagram is concise in wording but profound in meaning, something that can only be written by someone deeply versed in the principles of the Book of Changes. Since the Han dynasty, apart from Yang Xiong's Tai Xuan, no one has been able to explain its meaning. As for interpreting "six dragons" as the six lines of the hexagram and "li zhen" as the six lines each being in proper position, achieving a state of completion, this is a major mistake. The two lines "leading all creatures and bringing peace to all states" have not been incorrectly interpreted, but people do not understand why these two lines are added after "yuan heng li zhen." This is precisely to show the continuous cycle of the four virtues. Zhu Xi said, "Without zhen, there can be no yuan," and also said, "the four virtues cycle endlessly without beginning or end." This shows that he understood this meaning, but he never clearly pointed out the reason for adding these two lines. One must know that if "six dragons" and "six positions" are not distinguished, then the line "riding the six dragons at the right time" becomes meaningless. If "leading all creatures" is interpreted in the same way as "all things receive their beginning," yet the idea of cyclical continuity is not explained, then the line "leading all creatures" also becomes meaningless—how could such a thing be possible? The reason for this lies in the failure to clearly understand that "yuan heng li zhen" corresponds to the four seasons and the four cardinal directions. Although the Commentary on the Judgment and the Wenyan do not explicitly state this, they actually base their meaning on this concept. Because the meaning is profound and the language is concise and ancient, later scholars have diverged in their interpretations. It was only when Yang Xiong revealed the meanings of the four seasons and the four cardinal directions that people began to understand that the Commentary on the Judgment discusses the principles of yuan heng li zhen and the reasons for them. Only then did the meaning become clear. However, those who use the five stages of "wang, zhi, meng, qiu, meng" to explain yuan heng li zhen have only been mentioned by Fan Wang and Sima Guang (Wen Gong), and no other scholars have discussed this. This also shows how difficult the Tai Xuan is to read, comparable to the Book of Changes.

象日：天行健，君子以自強不息。《繫辭》云：象者像也，像此者也。先儒以其推闡一卦之義謂為大象，亦十翼之一。王引之云：《爾雅》行，道也；天行健，謂天道健也，與地勢順為對文。按《左傳》襄九年，晉伐鄭，杞人從趙武斬行栗，注行道也。由是以推，蠱剝復彖傳皆曰天行，皆天道也。凡大象專以人事言，言天道強健不息，君子法之也。

The Great Image Commentary says: The heavenly way is strong and vigorous, and the gentleman takes it as a model and strives ceaselessly. The Great Treatise says, "Xiang means image, meaning to resemble this." Earlier scholars used it to elaborate on the general meaning of a single hexagram, hence calling it the "Great Image," which is also one of the ten appendices. Wang Yinzhi said: The Er Ya explains "hang" as "dao," so "the heavenly way is strong and vigorous" means the heavenly way is strong and vigorous, matching exactly with the phrase "the earth's terrain is smooth" in the坤 hexagram. According to the Zuo Zhuan, part nine of the Xianggong period, when the state of Jin attacked Zheng, the people of Qi followed Zhao Wu in cutting down "hang li" (chestnuts by the roadside), and the annotation also says "hang means dao." From this we can infer that the three hexagrams Gǔ, Bō, and Fù in the Commentary on the Judgment all mention "tian xing," referring to the heavenly way. All the Great Image Commentaries speak specifically about human affairs. Here it refers to the heavenly way being strong and vigorous without ceasing, and the gentleman takes it as a model.

潛龍勿用，陽在下也。見龍在田，德施普也。初陽伏在下。德施普，言陽和之德，普及萬物也。下音戶。詩邶風凱風：爰有寒泉，在浚之下，有子七人，母氏勞苦。下音戶，與苦韻，此亦同也。終日乾乾，反復道也。乾盈則反巽，坤盈則復震。乾坤者震巽之終，震巽者乾坤之始。

The Small Image Commentary says: "A hidden dragon should not be used," because the yang energy is still below; "A dragon appears in the field," refers to the spread of virtue and benevolence. Initially, the single yang is hidden beneath, so it is said "yang is below." "Virtue is widespread" means the harmonious yang energy has spread to all things. Here, the character "下" is read as "hu" sound -- The Book of Songs, Wind of Bei, "Kai Feng" says: "There is cold spring water, beneath the well; there are seven sons, and the mother toils and suffers," where "下" is also read as "hu," rhyming with "苦," as in this case. "All day long, diligent and persevering, returning and reversing the way": When the yang of Qian is full, it returns to Xun (the beginning of yin), and when the yin of Kun is full, it returns to Zhen (the beginning of yang). Qian and Kun are the ends of Zhen and Xun, while Zhen and Xun are the beginnings of Qian and Kun. Thus, going and returning, it is called "returning and reversing."

或躍在淵，進無咎也。飛龍在天，大人聚也。躍，釋文云上也。初與四相上下，初潛淵底，故曰或躍在淵，言由初躍四也。時可進故無咎。五天位，故曰在天。聚原作造，釋文云，劉歆父子皆作聚。聚與文言云從龍、風從虎義合，且向歆所據皆中秘古文，必無誤，故從之。亢龍有悔，盈不可久也。用九，天德不可為首也。陽在上乾盈，盈則必虧，故日不可久。陽極則變，不變則剛柔不能相濟，凶之道也，故無首吉。

"Or leaps in the abyss, advancing without blame; the dragon soars in the heavens, the great man gathers." The character "跃" is explained in the "Classic Interpretation" as "up." The first line and the fourth line are opposite (corresponding lines), and the initial nine is hidden at the bottom of the abyss, so it is said "or leaps in the abyss," meaning moving from the first position to the fourth. The timing allows for advancement, so there is no fault. The fifth position is the heavenly position, so it is said "in the heavens." The character "聚" originally was "造." The "Classic Interpretation" says that Liu Xiang and Liu Xin both used "聚." Using "聚" is consistent with the meaning in the "Commentary" of "cloud follows the dragon, wind follows the tiger," where similar things gather together. Moreover, Liu Xiang and Liu Xin relied on ancient texts from the palace archives, which would not be wrong, so we follow "聚." "The dragon in excess has regret, fullness cannot be sustained; using nine, heavenly virtue cannot be first." Yang rises to the highest point, the乾 is full, fullness inevitably leads to loss, so it cannot be sustained. Yang reaches its extreme and must change; if it does not change, the strong and the flexible cannot harmonize, which is a way to invite misfortune. Therefore, changing to "without a head" is auspicious.